【推荐1】(Science and technology makes our school life easier and better than before! When your teacher gives lessons with his phone or iPad, Bluetooth does help a lot. What is Bluetooth? Read the article and find it out!)

If you look around the room you are in right now, you’ll probably notice a number of electronics. But can you imagine if they all had to be joined together by wires (电线)? Picture the wire snaking along the floor, for example, from your smartphone to your speaker, or connecting your game controller to the computer screen, meaning you could never sit more than a couple of meters away from it. A world of electronics connected by wires wouldn’t just be untidy, but a possible danger, too. That’s where Bluetooth comes in. We’ve all heard of it—but what exactly is it?    

Bluetooth is a method of short-distance（短距离）wireless communication between electronics that makes use of the power of radio waves. The idea was first thought of by Dr. Janp Haartsen at Swedish mobile company Ericsson in 1994. Things really stepped up in September 1998 when the Bluetooth Special Interest Group(SIG) was set up to develop and spread the technology. Bluetooth 1.0 came out in 1999, and a year later it began to be used in mobile phones and desktop computers. Now Bluetooth has become an increasingly popular way of solving the problem of more and more electronics needing to be connected without having to connect everything together with wires.

But if you look at the remote control（遥控器）you use to choose the program on TV, you might rightly ask yourself why Bluetooth was such a big deal. After all, connecting objects with infrared signals（红外信号）which can’t be seen had been done before. The problem with remote controls is that they need to keep what is called “line of sight”. If something is standing between the remote control and receiver, it won’t work. Because Bluetooth uses radio waves, the things standing in the way are no longer a problem.

Since its creation in the late 1990s, the technology has become more and more improved and widely used, with the 4 billionth Bluetooth objects shipped in 2020.

1. How does the writer lead in the topic “Bluetooth” in Paragraph 1?

A．By describing scenes.	B．By comparing facts.
C．By telling stories.	D．By explaining reasons.

2. With the setting up of SIG, Bluetooth ________.

A．started to be used in cars	B．made radio waves known to people
C．improved and spread quickly	D．was able to connect all electronics

3. From Paragraph 3, we mainly get to know the ________ of Bluetooth.

A．development

B．popularity

C．standard

D．advantage

4. ________ will most probably be interested in this text.

A．Phone sellers

B．Technology fans

C．Newspaper reporters

D．History lovers

【推荐2】Aren’t mobile phone, e-mail and voice mail supposed to help us communicate more easily? Sadly, that’s not always the case. Take the other day for example: when I was walking through the park with my friend, suddenly his mobile phone rang and he answered it—leaving me alone and cutting our conversation dead! In fact, the park was filled with people talking on their mobile phones. They were passing other people without even looking at them, or stopping to walk their dogs. Clearly, people can use mobile phones everywhere, but they ignore the people around.

Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? New communication technology seems to keep away from each other. With e-mail over the Internet, we can communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With WeChat or QQ, you can have conversations without even meeting that person. Even some food stores are using self-scanners so that you can check yourself out. As the contact between human beings becomes automated, my feeling of being disconnected gets stronger. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against machines. I also own a mobile phone, a QQ, a WeChat and an e-mail account. Giving them up isn’t a good idea, as they are useful to have around. It’s just that when they keep us away from human contact, I begin to feel sad. Moreover, I find myself answering e-mail instead of talking to people. The technology that was made to help keep us in contact with each other is, in fact, making me feel more lonely.

What is to be done? Well, try to use less technology: no e-mailing people who live nearby, and no letting QQ and WeChat catch you all the time.

1. The purpose of the example in Paragraph 1 is to show that ________.

A．mobile phones bring a lot of convenience to people

B．mobile phones result in ignoring the others around

C．people communicate more easily with mobile phones

D．people are good at using mobile phones in their daily life

2. The underlined word “disconnected” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.

A．lonely

B．satisfied

C．stupid

D．interested

3. It can be inferred from Passage 2 that ________.

A．technology keeps people busier than before

B．technology is always useful to have around

C．the writer is going to give up the mobile phone

D．the writer would like to contact people face to face

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Technology and Human Life	B．The Importance of Technology
C．Technology and Human Contact	D．The Development of Technology

【推荐3】

LIFE                                                                                                                     Wuhan Daily May 22nd, 2021 The step count app. (计步app) To keep healthy, many people go to work on foot. When they start walking, they open the step count app in their phones to record(记录) how many steps they walk that day. After a day’s walk, some people show the number on WeChat or Weibo. This can make them learn from each other and keep exercising. A reporter interviewed(采访) some people. “This helps me to exercise much and keep a good habit,” Miss Liu said. “We also have a group to encourage each other to keep exercising.” Mr. Wu likes to exercise. But in the past he was kind of lazy. “After I use the app, everything is different. It’s great to exercise with my friends.” he said. Walking is a relaxing and useful way to exercise. Both the old and the young like it. Recording the steps helps people develop(培养) good habit of walking and showing the number can make people more interested in walking. But don’t take the number too seriously(别太当真).

1. According to the news, We can know that ________.

A．the photo was provided by Wuhan Daily.

B．the news above comes from LIFE section

C．the news “The step count app.” was reported by Mr. Wu

D．the reporter interviewed some people on May 22nd, 2021

2. What does Miss. Liu think of a group to exercise?

A．It helps them learn from each other.	B．It makes them work even harder.
C．It encourages each other to keep exercising.	D．It helps them chat with each other.

3. What does the writer think of showing the number of steps?

A．It can make people show off on WeChat.	B．It can help people walk instead of driving.
C．It can make people more interested in walking.	D．It can help people change in many ways.

4. We can know from the news that ________.

A．Miss Liu was kind of lazy in the past	B．Mr. Wu hates to exercise
C．The step count app is bad for your health	D．Many people go to work on foot to keep healthy

5. The news mainly(主要地) tells us ________.

A．the step app helps us develop a habit of walking

B．people are using the app to record their step number

C．it’s great to exercise with friends in a group

D．lazy people will change after using the app

【推荐1】All through grade school, I got extra help with schoolwork. If I got a D, I was very happy. If I got a C-minus (C-), I had achieved greatness. A’s and B’s were a kingdom I could never enter.

Once my teacher, Miss Mills, had given me a list of ten spelling words. My mother and I went over the list until I knew those words. I felt great. I thought, “Wow! This time, I’m going to pass.” The next day, I went into the classroom and began to write down the words. The first word was carpet. I wrote that one down: c-a-r-p-e-t. I was feeling pretty confident. Then came neighbor-I wrote down the letter n. Then rhythm-I knew there was an r. Suburban-I wrote s-u-b. My confidence failed me. I had gone from 100 percent to maybe a D-minus. Where did the words go?

Some people talk about information sliding off your brain. That was my life. I was an underachiever (未能充分发挥学习潜力者).

Now I know I have dyslexia (诵读困难症). A person with dyslexia might see the as teh, and bird as brid. My brain learns differently. A learning disability can really change the way you feel about yourself. Now I know that even if I learn differently, I can still be filled with greatness.

Today when I visit schools as an actor, director, and co-author of children’s books, I tell children that everyone has something special inside. It’s our job to find out what that is and get it out, and give it to the world as a gift.

1. What’s the writer’s problem in grade school?

A．He had trouble spelling.	B．He often got C-minuses.
C．He was absent-minded.	D．He had a physical disability.

2. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that the writer ________.

A．wrote down 20% words correctly	B．knew he had dyslexia then
C．felt upset about himself at last	D．studied hard and passed the test

3. The underlined phrase “sliding off” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.

A．coming into	B．going through
C．moving around	D．disappearing from

4. After the writer knew he had dyslexia, he ________.

A．felt very excited	B．had more difficulties in study
C．was filled with sadness	D．changed his view of himself

5. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A Change for Sure	B．A Great Underachiever
C．A Gift from the World	D．A Special Spelling Bee

【推荐2】Shylock held his knife and told Antonio to get ready. “Wait!” said Portia. “You will not do anything that is not written in the contract (合同). Is that right, Shylock?”

“Yes, that’s right,” said Shylock. He wondered what the wise young judge was going to say.

“Well,” said the young judge, “I have read the contract carefully, and it does not say anything about taking his blood. It says ‘a pound of flesh (肉)’. You can take your pound of flesh, but you may not take one drop of his blood. If you take any of his blood, the duke (公爵) will take everything you own.”

Now it was Graziano’s turn to praise the judge and call him wise. “Did you hear that, Shylock?” he asked. “What a wise judge!”

“You wanted justice (公正),” Portia told Shylock, “and you will have it. You will have more justice than you wanted.”

Shylock didn’t want to give everything he owned to the duke. He decided not to take his pound of flesh. He said he would take the money. “Give me ninety thousand dollars,” he said, “and I will have pity on Antonio and let him go.”

Bassanio was happy to give him the money. “Here it is,” he said. “I have it ready for you.” He was very pleased that his friend Antonio would not die.

“Wait!” Portia said again. “He does not want the money. It is not written in the contract, and he said he would not do anything that was not written in the contract. Shylock, you can take your pound of flesh, just as the contract says. Why are you waiting?”

Shylock said he just wanted to have his money back. “Just give me the money I lent you. I won’t even ask for interest,” he said. Bassanio was ready to give it to him, but again Portia stopped him. “He said he wanted only the penalty that is in the contract.”

Shylock understood that he would not get his pound of flesh. He understood he would not get his money. He decided to go home.

“Wait!” said Portia, for the third time, “The law of Venice says that if you plan to kill a citizen of Venice, you will lose everything that you own. Half of what you have will belong to the person you tried to kill, and the other half will belong to the duke.”

(Taken from The Merchant of Venice)

1. Who was the wise judge?

A．The duke.

B．Bassanio.

C．Graziano.

D．Portia.

2. How did Shylock most probably feel when he said “I won’t even ask for interest.”?

A．Nervous and helpless.	B．Guilty but hopeful.
C．Angry and crazy.	D．Confident but curious.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Graziano was a friend of Antonio and Bassanio.

B．Shylock lost his life for planning to kill a citizen of Venice.

C．Antonio got far more money than ninety thousand dollars at last.

D．The duke took everything Shylock owned according to the contract.

【推荐1】“I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the net.”

“I often check my email 40 times a day.”

“I often spend more than three hours at one time on the net.”

“I spend more time in chat rooms than with my ‘real-life’ friends.”

Do you know any people like this? They are part of a new addiction(瘾) called Internet addiction. Internet addicts(成瘾的人) spend at least 30-40 hours online every week. The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug(毒品) use. People lose the control of the time they spend on the Internet.

For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried, and they called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he had been surfing the net for several days.

Studies show that about 6 percent to 10 percent of Internet users become addicted. And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them. They spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world with friends and family.

Is “surfing the net” a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms(症状):

You do not go to important family activities or you do not do schoolwork because you like to spend hours on the Internet.

You can’t wait for your next online time.

You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours.

You go out with your friends less and less.

1. What do the beginning quotes(引用) of the story tell us?

A．Why a person becomes an Internet addict.	B．What an Internet addict usually does.
C．Where to find an Internet addict.	D．Why the author wrote this story.

2. How does the writer describe the addicts’ Internet use?

A．It is like studying for school.	B．It is a way of producing drugs.
C．It is like taking drugs.	D．It is terrible to imagine.

3. The example in the 6th paragraph show that                  .

A．Internet problems aren’t serious among college students

B．Internet addicts usually stay in the computer lab without sleep

C．some of the Internet users have already been seriously addicted

D．the police often help to find those Internet addicts

4. Why do people worry about the teens?

A．The teens are wasting too much money.

B．They used to work on the Internet.

C．The playing field of the teens will disappear.

D．More and more of the teens will become addicted to the Internet.

5. What is the writer trying to tell us at the end of the passage?

A．Don’t become addicted to(沉迷于)the Internet.

B．Go to family activities more often.

C．Do things you have planned.

D．Stay with your parents as often as possible.

【推荐2】A black hole is a place in outer space with very strong gravity. Gravity is a great force（力量） that shapes the universe. On Earth, gravity makes apples fall from trees. It keeps your   feet   planted on the ground. The gravity in a black hole is much stronger. It is so strong that nothing around it can get away from it, not even light.

Black holes are invisible. We can’t actually see them because they don't throw back light. But scientists can find them with space telescopes（望远镜）and special tools. The strong gravity makes nearby stars move in a certain way. By studying how the stars move, scientists can find out if they are flying around a black hole. Strange things happen around black holes. This makes black holes a popular subject of science fiction（科幻）stories, although they are very real.

A black hole forms when a star dies. The star falls in on itself and turns into a very small point. Because of its small size and huge mass（质量）, the gravity will be so strong that it will pull light in and become a black hole. Black holes can grow huge as they continue to pull other things in and “eat” them. Many scientists believe that there are super-massive black holes at the center of galaxies, including the Milky Way.

The idea of the black hole was first suggested by two different scientists in the 18th century: John Michelle and Pierre-Simon Laplace. In 1967, a physicist named John Archibald Wheeler came up with the name “black hole”. Studying black holes can tell us many things about our galaxy and help scientists answer questions about the universe.

1. The word “invisible” in Paragraph 2 probably means “ ”.

A．far to go	B．impossible to see
C．hard to catch	D．easy to find

2. The third paragraph is mainly about .

A．how big black holes are	B．how heavy black holes are
C．how black holes are formed	D．how black holes “eat” stars

3. From the passage we learn .

A．a star’s moving path can’t help scientists find a black hole

B．writers love writing about black holes because they are real

C．there aren’t any black holes at the center of the Milky Way

D．John Archibald Wheeler came up with the name “black hole”

【推荐3】
Thomas Edison was born in America. He invented plenty of electric appliances(电器) and people from all over the world know him. At that time, there was no electric lamp in the world. And it brought people much trouble. Young Edison decided to invent it. He didn’t know which material was suited to be a lamp filament(灯丝). He failed and failed and he spent a lot of time on it. Some of his friends asked him to stop the experiments, but he didn’t listen to them and tried his best to find the material.
One afternoon, one of his friends came to visit him, he was doing his experiments in the lab when the man came in. But he only asked his friend to sit down and didn’t stop to talk with him. The man sat for a long time and Edison said nothing to him. His friend was angry with him and said, “You’ve done the experiments 1,200 times but you failed 1,200 times too!”
“You’re right, my friend,” Edison went on doing his experiments and said. “But I’ve known 1,200 materials are not suited to be a lamp filament!”
1. Why do many people know Edison?

A．Because he was very clever.

B．Because he worked hard.

C．Because he spent much time on his work.

D．Because he invented many electric appliances.

2. He tried to find a kind of material which was suited to be ______.

A．a lamp

B．a lamp filament

C．a telephone

D．a light

3. Edison was busy with his work, so ____________.

A．he asked his friend to help him

B．he asked his friend to go back first

C．he didn’t stop to talk with his friend

D．he asked his friend to watch him working

4. His friend was angry because ____________.

A．he couldn’t persuade Edison to give up

B．Edison didn’t say hello to him

C．Edison failed 1,200 times

D．he didn’t think Edison was polite to him

5. From the passage, we learn that ___________.

A．Edison was a hard-working person	B．Edison never gave up
C．Edison was rude to friends.	D．Both A and B

【推荐1】Do you have a smart speaker to play your favorite song? Have you ever had a chat with Siri? I'm sure your answer must be yes. Voice assistants are programs on digital devices. They listen and respond to verbal (口头的) orders.

Today's voice assistants can help you with many things. They can do almost anything you can think of. They can answer questions, make calls as well as provide weather, traffic, sports and other real­time information. They can even control smart devices (装置) in your home, such as the highlights and air conditioner.

So how do they understand us?

It all starts with a signal word. Users say the names of their voice assistants to get their attention. For example, they might say, "Hey, Siri!" The signal word wakes up the device and tells it to begin paying attention.

After it hears the signal word, the voice assistant starts recording. The device waits for a pause to know you've finished your request. It then sends your recorded request over the Internet to its database (数据库).

Once in the database, your request is compared to other requests. It's divided into separate orders that your voice assistant can understand. The database then sends these separate orders back to the device. When it receives the orders, the voice assistant will carry out the task you asked for.

Voice assistants are improving all the time. If you say to a smart speaker, "Play rock music", and it plays country music, you'll tell it to stop. This teaches the device that the orders it received from its database were wrong. It will tell the database about the mistake and try to do better next time.Sometimes a voice assistant might ask a question after it receives your request to make sure it understands what you want.

1. What is Siri?

A．A computer.

B．A radio.

C．A phone.

D．A program.

2. How do the voice assistants begin to work?

A．Users say their names.	B．They hear the users' voices.
C．Users have a chat with them.	D．They answer the questions.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The smart speaker can receive written words.

B．Any orders can be understood by the voice assistants.

C．We can use voice assistants to control the smart refrigerator.

D．As soon as the voice assistant hears the signal word, it sends requests.

4. What's the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Users can teach voice assistants to understand.

B．Voice assistants make mistakes but can be improved.

C．A smart speaker can do almost anything you can request.

D．Users should stop the voice assistant when it carries out the wrong task.

5. What's the best title of the passage?

A．What Are   Voice Assistants	B．How Do Voice Assistants Work
C．What Can Voice Assistants Do	D．How Do Voice Assistants Understand

【推荐2】

Should we be afraid of sharks? Maybe not. New research into the reasons for shark attacks(攻击)suggests that sharks don't like the way humans taste! In fact, most people who are attacked by the shark are still alive after receiving only one bite(咬). Why is this?

There are many opinions to explain why sharks sometimes attack people. One opinion is that sharks are just curious. We know that sharks are the strongest animals in their environment, so they are not afraid of anything. Naturally, that means they are curious when they meet something unusual. Because they don’t have hands or feet, the only way they can find out an object is to bite it! It is thought that sharks sometimes bite humans for this reason, and then swim away.

Scientists also say that sharks would not waste energy trying to eat a human, as we have a lot of bones (骨头). It is hard for a shark to eat us because sharks don’t have hands, and they can't pull the meat off our bones. Maybe that's why they only bite us once. Unluckily, one bite from a large shark is serious enough to hurt people greatly!

Another opinion is that sharks attack humans by mistake. Some sharks may sometimes mistake humans for seals. An example of this is when a shark attacks a surfer. A surfer lying on a surfboard looks like a seal when seen from below. Sharks like seals because they have thick fat.

Whatever the reason for shark attacks on humans, sharks should be afraid of us. Sadly, we kill almost 40 million of them each year.

1. What does “curious” in the second paragraph mean in Chinese?

A．害怕的

B．好奇的

C．兴奋的

2. How do sharks find out an unusual object according to the passage?

A．By biting.

B．By smelling.

C．By touching.

3. What happens to people attacked by sharks?

A．Most of them die.

B．Most of them are still alive.

C．Most of them become strong

4. Which sentence about sharks is TRUE?

A．Sharks pull meat off bones when they eat.

B．Sharks might mistake humans for seals.

C．Sharks like to attack surfers because of their thick fat.

5. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To tell surfers to stay away from sharks.

B．To ask people to stop killing sharks.

C．To let us know the reasons for shark attacks on people.

【推荐3】

Found Is this your watch? It’s a yellow watch. Please call Paul at 439-9175.

Lost My backpack. It is blue with a duck on it. Please call Linda. Phone 416-3592.

Found Is this your English-Chinese dictionary? It’s red. It’s under my desk. Please call Alan at 485 -7700.

Lost My school ID card. My name is Jim. Please call 465-0921.

1. If you ______, you can call Alan.

A．lose your watch	B．find a backpack
C．lose your dictionary	D．find a school ID card

2. What colour is the backpack?

A．It’s blue.	B．It’s yellow.
C．It’s red.	D．It’s black.

3. If you find a school ID card, you can call______.

A．439-9175	B．416-3592
C．485-7700	D．465-0921

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the ad?

A．Paul found a white watch.

B．Linda found a backpack with a duck on it.

C．Alan found an English-Chinese dictionary.

D．Jim found a school ID card.

5. If the ad is in the newspaper, the name of the topic will probably（可能）be______.

A．Lost and Found	B．Everyday Newspaper
C．Love Story	D．Travel Around